How Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will force David de Gea out of comfort zone at Man Utd – Balague

May 15, 2019

The Red Devils goalkeeper endured one of the worst runs of form that he has encountered since his early Old Tafford days in the back end of the season.

Manchester United stumbled over the finish line this term as they failed to qualify for the Champions League, limped out of the competition at the hands of Barcelona and suffered FA Cup woe.

De Gea’s dismal performances coincided with that spell as he was at fault for a handful of goals along the way.

The most notable ones came at Arsenal from Granit Zhaka’s long-range drive in United’s 2-0 Premier League, Lionel Messi’s tame strike which squeezed under De Gea at the Nou Camp and Gylfi Sigurdsson’s goal for Everton from 30 yards at Goodison Park which the keeper failed to react quickly enough to.

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The alarming mistakes have led many to suspect De Gea’s head is not where it should be.

The 28-year-old’s contract situation remains unresolved as his current deal expires in 12 months’ time.

PSG continue to be linked with the Spain No.1 with the summer transfer window opening imminently, while Juventus have also been credited with interest.

The discussion around De Gea’s future comes as:

David de Gea needs a challenge from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United (Pic: GETTY)

“Solskjaer will be looking to sign top players away from the top-six clubs”

His long desired move to Real Madrid has been off the cards since last summer after Thibaut Courtois forced his way out of Chelsea to take the Bernabeu No.1 spot.

As a result, De Gea needs re-motivating back at Old Trafford ahead of a pivotal season where Solskjaer must regain control of the players and overhaul the squad in his first full campaign at the helm.

Journalist Guillem Balague says Solskjaer will be looking to sign top players away from the top-six clubs in England who may not be the biggest names but will have ‘United DNA’.

That means they are ‘physically strong, possessing of quality and talent, bursting with enthusiasm, eager to learn and hungry to succeed.’

De Gea, United’s four-time Player of the Year, still has those traits.

But Balague adds in his Football Index blog that De Gea will have to change his style as Solskjaer builds a more offensive United unit.

The Spaniard says that could be the move out of the comfort zone which the Red Devils star needs.

Solskjaer aims to rebuild a winning mentality at Old Trafford.

However, it does remain to be seen how long De Gea sticks around to see whether there is light at the end of the tunnel under the Norwegian’s leadership.